Happy New Year!

If you are on the island for your New Year's festivities, the annual Books to be Red "No Football Zone" open house and sale is scheduled for tomorrow (1/1) from 1 to 4 PM. Wine and snacks will be available, and there will be items on sale throughout the store. I'm planning to stop by and spend a gift certificate I got for Christmas (plus, most likely, more!)

Thanks for reading the blog! Although I was slow, and some months were low and others high, I somehow managed to do 365 posts this year...making it truly Island Daily, again. Whether I can pull it off for a third year in a row remains to be seen, but something about just having the record is habit-forming and motivating.

Wishing you many blessings and much joy in 2010, wherever you are...

Moony

The last couple of nights, as I have let Jamie (the cat) either out of or into the house around 11 PM, I noticed a gorgeous silver glow outside. One nice thing about clear, cold weather is that the moon and stars are so much more visible since there isn't much cloud cover to block the view. I also noticed that the moon has been nearly full.

Then today I saw this article which confirms that the moon will be full tomorrow night for New Year's Eve celebrations, and that it will be the second full moon in December (popularly called a "blue moon"). A blue moon on New Year's is a somewhat rare occurrence, and the next one won't be until 2028.

Hope you have fun, whatever your plans are for ringing in 2010. If you can, make part of your celebration a quick trip outside, and look up!

Oyster roast

Today was the fourth annual Ocracoke Working Watermen's Association Oyster Roast. It was delicious, as usual (this year they added fish stew to the steamed oysters and shrimp), but apparently our luck with weather finally ran out. It has been unseasonably, wonderfully warm (like in the 60s and one year the 70s!) every year except for this one. It was about 41 this time! We still had fun, but bare hands which are getting wet from shucking oysters and eating juicy shrimmp get REALLY cold REALLY fast at that temperature!

It was a sunny day and the light on the harbor was lovely.



The crowd seemed slightly smaller than usual, probably because some people took the food home with them to eat it someplace warmer! There was still a good number of folks who did stay outside, braving the weather and enjoying the camaraderie that is part of what makes an event like this fun.





Delicious desserts were available at the Working Watermen's Exhibit building (just down the street at the Community Square, in the old Jack's store location).



I went in for a few minutes, to warm up and see a sneak preview of the exhibits. I plan to go back another day and do a longer blog about this new location where you can learn more about Ocracoke's history.

A quiet night out

John and I got to spend a night away a couple of days ago, since we had plenty of extra people available to take care of Connor. We didn't go far...just to The Cove B&B. Yes, the one we ran for slightly over 2 years. I won a free night there during a fundraiser for the Child Care, and was happy to use it, since I got to be on the receiving - rather than the serving - end of breakfast! (Which, incidentally, was delicious - baked apples and eggs benedict. Yum.)


This room - the Plover Suite - used to be our living room! (What is now the bathroom is the area where our dining table and my work desk were.) When Chad and Erin (the current innkeepers) took over the B&B, the owners decided to let them live in the cottage next door (which they had purchased after we started running the B&B and moved in), meaning they could renovate the space that was our apartment into an additional suite.


The Plover Suite has a private entrance and screened porch, with a swing in it that I just had to swing in even though it was chilly. On windy mornings (like this was), you can hear the waters of the sound crashing onto the beach at Springer's Point from there. Ah...I miss that screened porch. (Not the work of running the B&B, just the porch!)

If you're interested in staying at The Cove (I highly recommend it!), check out their website.

Tea time

Yesterday morning, I was incredibly blessed to have my sister, my mom, and several of my friends come to my house for a Ladies Christmas Tea. We had croissants with chicken salad, cucumber sandwiches, petit fours, shortbread cookies, baked brie, scones with fig preserves, and several flavors of tea. The food and drinks were delicious, but the best part was definitely the company! Let's do it again next year, ladies...


The desire to use my Christmas tea set was what led to this event!


The set table was really pretty.


Let's eat!


The best part - several of my favorite ladies on the planet, all in the same place.

Merry Christmas!

Hope you all have a joyous day tomorrow, wherever you are...

Migration

I went to the beach recently and saw what must have been hundreds, if not over a thousand, migrating birds. The line of them coming by the spot where I was standing lasted for several minutes. It was awe-inspiring to watch.

Eating options

My sister and I got all dressed up tonight for our plans to eat dinner together at the Back Porch, which was supposed to be open for the first part of this week. No such luck. As we rounded the curve on Back Road, we saw immediately that the restaurant was completely dark (apparently they changed their plans). So we went to Creekside, as it was the only open place, and will be for the next few days. Well, at least if you're wondering about lunch or dinner options at the moment on the island, it's a simple choice: Creekside, or Creekside.

Last minute...

All of a sudden, I think I'm not ready for Christmas. I've always been more of a last-minute shopper than I would like to admit, but that's not so much of an option when you live on an island. I was really organized this year, and placed all my orders in plenty of time. But some of them still haven't arrived, so I'm a bit stressed. Guess I need to remember that gift giving is only a small part of what Christmas is about.

Hope your holiday plans are going well, wherever you are...

A fumble-bumble well done

Tonight was the performance of the Assembly of God church Christmas pageant, "The Fumbly Bumbly Angels". I was the narrator, and the unofficial director/suggestion maker/helper. The show went off without a hitch, and I was really proud of all my "angels"! Here are a few photos.

Parties

I managed to go to two separate parties before noon yesterday. I know it's busy around here for the holiday season, but multiple events in the first few hours of the day is still pretty impressive in my opinion!

The first party was at Ocracoke Child Care. Led by Sundae and Rob, the kids sang a bunch of traditional Christmas carols (and some lesser known Christmas songs, too) and also played instruments (well, sticks and bells).







Then they donned halos to sing "All the Little Angels in the Band". Adorable!



Rob looked pretty angelic, too.



Then it was snacktime in a room with festively covered tables.



Wow...that was just the FIRST party! It was at 9 AM and I actually had to leave it a bit early to go to the second one, which was at 10.

The next event was the annual first grade Polar Express party. John played the conductor and took the kids tickets as usual, but this year he looked more official in his hat!



Once everyone was inside on the "train", we listened to the book (on tape).



Of course, we could all hear the bell.



Then, I gave the kids their own bells.



And finally, we enjoyed hot chocolate and other treats.



It was a busy morning, but lots of fun (not to mention delicious). Lucky me!

Caroling, caroling, here we go

A small, rather well bundled up group of islanders braved the cold on Friday night to go around the village caroling to older island residents and folks who are housebound or recently experienced illness/surgery/etc.

Jamie brought her cute lantern that she has had along with her for the last several years. The handle broke just a few minutes later, sending it falling to the ground where the glass of course smashed completely.

In spite of the cold and the lantern crash, it was a fun night of singing, followed by a wonderfully warming chili supper at the Assembly of God church. I have been caroling every year since I moved to the island (this was my fifth time), and I hope to go again next year, regardless of the temperature!

School Christmas Show

As I think I've mentioned in previous Christmas blogs, one of the most attended events of the Christmas season (and the year) is the Ocracoke School Christmas program. It is also usually highly entertaining. This year's show was no exception, on both counts.

The first part of the show was made up of student musical performances, starting with Aaron Caswell doing a terrific guitar version of Silent Night with Lou Castro.

Then there were several performances by students on recorders...



...and bells.



The second half of the show was a series of wonderfully choreographed dance performances.







This modern version of Frosty the Snowman was hilarious - he didn't begin to dance around when they placed the stovepipe hat on his head...

...so they tried a Michael Jackson jacket and glove, which worked wonders!

The reindeer - aka the kindergarten class - brought Santa to the show...



...for a kiss under the mistletoe...

...which was witnessed by the first graders as they danced in their PJs to "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus".

The highlight of the show was a performance of Blue Christmas, by...well, Elvis, of course. Complete with teen girl groupies.

My favorite part of the show every year is the end, when the entire school population - all the kids from pre-K through grade 12 - gets together on stage to sing "We Wish You a Merry Christmas".

Want to be Santa?

Ocracoke Child Care has a wish list of items they would like or could use for the kids. So if you're feeling the need to be Santa and bless a bunch of children, here's a great place to start!


Ocracoke Child Care Wish List

· Tinker Toys

· KAPLA Blocks (by Kapla)

· Connectagons

· Magneatos (larger size)

· Natural Wooden Blocks – by GuideCraft (any of the

architectural sets of natural wood table top building blocks:

Arabian, Asian, Greek and/or Castle)

· Towels & Washcloths/Rags

· Shades for Classrooms ($ money toward our $1,200 goal)



Thank you for your support of our center!

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

New ponies

I received this press release a few days ago, and thought I would share the good news!

National Park Service News Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: DATE: December 9, 2009
CONTACT: Cyndy Holda, 252-473-2111, ext. 148 or Kenny Ballance, 252-928-5111

New Additions to NPS Ocracoke Pony Herd

Superintendent Mike Murray announced today that Cape Hatteras National Seashore has adopted two Shackleford Banks ponies from the Foundation for Shackleford Horses, Inc. in Beaufort, NC. The two fillies, named Sacajawea and Jitterbug, will be delivered to Ocracoke Pony Pens on Sunday, December 13. The ponies will be temporarily displayed for the visiting public to view in a special enclosure near the observation platform from 11:00 am to 3:00 pm.

Sacajawea and Jitterbug, both approximately 2 years old, were removed from Cape Lookout National Seashore in September and received veterinary and farrier care prior to the ferry trip to their new home on Ocracoke Island. The addition of these two ponies will assist park managers in meeting one of the Seashore’s primary pony management objectives of reintroducing the genetic strain common to Outer Banks horses. This strain is typically identified by the brown body and white face markings commonly seen in other Outer Banks horses. Maintaining the genetic diversity and herd size is important to herd survival.

Thousands of park visitors cherish the Ocracoke ponies and contribute to the Adopt-A-Pony fund annually. “The NPS and the Foundation for Shackleford Horses have a mutual goal of preserving Outer Banks horses for the people of the United States. We are appreciative of the good work of Ms. Carolyn Mason and the Foundation which has enabled us to introduce two new fillies to the Ocracoke herd” stated Superintendent Mike Murray.

For more information, check out the following websites:

Ocracoke ponies
shacklefordhorses.org

Oyster roast

If you're planning to be on the island the week after Christmas, there's an event you don't want to miss. The fourth annual Ocracoke Working Watermen's Association Oyster Roast, Shrimp Steam, and Fish Stew fundraiser will be held on Tuesday December 29th from 2:00 - 5:00 PM at the Fish House. There will be live music provided by local performers. The cost is $15. It's all you care to eat, so that's a great deal! There will be dessert and cider available at the Watermen's Exhibit at the Community Square, where you can learn more about OWWA.

Eerie

It has been incredibly foggy here today. So foggy that it's eerie. Sounds are muffled and everything just seems dim. The ferries aren't running, the streets are nearly completely devoid of cars (or bikes, or walkers). It feels a bit like a ghost town. Creepy.

Stop me...

...before I volunteer again! I recently said "sure, I can help with that" when asked if I wanted to be involved with the Christmas pageant for the Assembly of God Church. So I find myself as the narrator of the show, "The Fumbly Bumbly Angels", which means that I now have something to do (rehearsal) almost every day this week. It's actually a lot of fun, though. (I had forgotten how much I missed being involved with theater.)

Partyin' in the garage

We went to the biggest party/potluck of the year - Jimmy's Garage Party - tonight, and enjoyed it as always. The garage was decorated in holiday style.



The food was terrific as always...and there was plenty of it, as usual.



There were loads of people there, also as usual.



Connor had a great time, hanging out with his new friend Brian.

Open house

Ocracoke Preservation Society hosted an open house at the historic home on Lighthouse Road which they have purchased and are offering for sale. The hope is to find buyers who will restore the house, and it will be sold with restrictive covenants in place to protect it. Here are a few photos.